Chapter 9 -The Stray Priest
It was a weird scene, in hindsight, me, a hormonal teenage girl, with another fairly attractive girl on top of me. To anyone passing by, I'd look like a lesbian or something, and frankly, it'd be funny if not for the fact that the only person there, other than me and the Devil was my own sister, who was staring at me with a face the shade of a tomato.
"...Sister, that doesn't answer my question." she said, slowly approaching the Devil and I, frowning slightly as she looked over us both.
"...Don't worry about it..." I stated, shuffling back and rubbing the back of my head, adjusting my glasses, which by some miracle, hadn't broken in the crossfire of all this. The girl gave a slight giggle, standing up, flashing her smug grin at me once more.
"I'll let you two get off now~ I reckon I've caused you both enough trouble~" she stated, putting a hand on her hip and winking down at me. "Remember Lyonette~ After school, near the gym~" she repeated, beginning to walk off, a slight sway in her hips as she did so. I watched her as she wandered away into the darkness, diverting my gaze back to Tylia, noticing her expression as she gawked at the girl, a giggle escaping me.
"...S-should we have...killed her?" she asked, looking over to me, a slight bit of shakeyness in her voice.
"Nah...?" I responded, getting to my feet and brushing my hands over my uniform, getting the muck and dust off of myself as best as I could. "She had a bit of a...different vibe to her than the Stray we fought yesterday, so...I don't think she's all that bad." I observed as Tylia's jaw dropped, her eyes going wide as she gazed at me.
"You fought a Stray Devil yesterday?!"
"Yeah..." I stated, clearing my throat as I approached her, blinking as I looked at her once more. "That's why I was a little late home last night." Tylia blinked, seemingly thinking over this tid-bit for a moment, watching me as I cleared myself off. "Tell you what though, reporting this to Rias is going to be one hell of a conversation." before opening her mouth to speak, Tylia's train of thought being cut off by the loud ringing of a phone. I turned my head, looking around the area, before looking at my own jacket pocket, stuffing my hand in and taking out my mobile phone, flipping it open and looking at the name of the caller...'Rias G'. "...Since when did I have Rias' number?"
"I thought you said you didn't have Lady Gremory's number..." Tylia said, narrowing her eyes at me and pouting, folding her arms in a stroppy fashion.
"Hold on...Just a sec." I muttered, accepting the call and putting it to my ear. "Yo, Rias, what's up?" I greeted the president with confusion in my voice, hearing her speak on the other end.
"Hello, Lyonette. Could you quickly get back the school? We've got a bit of a situation..." she stated, her voice semi-distorted by the phone's quality.
"...How are we meant to get back to school again?" I asked, sweating a tad as I blinked in confusion. "I don't have the ability to make Magic Circles, do I?"
"...Just a moment, Akeno is coming to pick you and your sister up." she responded with a sigh, seemingly not thinking of the logistics of how we were meant to get back. Before I could respond, a bright flash of red lit up the dark street around us, with Akeno suddenly appearing out of the glow.
"Shall we get going~? You wouldn't want to keep the president waiting, would you~?" Akeno stated in her chipper, slightly unnerving voice, keeping the circle open, seemingly.
"I'll see you all in a moment." Rias said, a tone being heard on the other end as she hung up the phone, leaving me with little time to think over what just happened. I nodded to Tylia, putting my phone away and guiding her to the circle, nodding to Akeno as she transported us back to the club room.
[Perspective of: Tylia Griffin]
A loud yelp resounded from my lips as the Devil circle transported us from A to B, my eyes and mind sensitive to it's abhorrant power, while also feeling a sense of homelyness from it, in a grim way. It was only a matter of time before I could see once more, a gaze around the room showed me that only Rias, Akeno and Lyonette were present, with Rias having a look of uncertainty upon her resplendant face, gazing at my sister.
"What's going on? Where's Koneko and Kiba? And Issei, for that matter?" Lyonette asked, tilting her head in an inquisitive manner, a look of confoundment in her expression.
"Issei...appears to be in trouble." Rias spoke, folding her arms, her look of worry ever deepening. "I've sent Kiba and Koneko in to check it out, and it looks to be an Exorcist." I immediately felt my heart sink at the word, a frown upon my face.
"Why am I worried for the livelyhood of a Devil of all things...?" I pondered, sighing with a shudder. "...Then again, considering how these lot have acted...Perhaps I thought wrong as to the nature of these creatures..."
"So...What am I meant to do?" Lyonette asked, folding her arms with an annoyed exhale.
"I want you and your sister to accompany me and Akeno in there." the busty red-head responded, her look ever stern and imposing, a look which would make a man shudder in fear and possibly deviant arousal.
"...Riiight..." Lyonette groaned, putting her hands on her hips, a small spark in her eyes. "...Let's go then, I suppose."
"...I am not sure if I can match up to a fully trained Exorcist..." I began, putting my hand on my chest, looking at Rias. "But I will try and utilise my magical prowess incase anyone gets injured."
"Magical...prowess?" my sister questioned, glancing me over with a look of confusion. "Since when did you...?"
"I'm afraid we don't have time to chat about this, but we need to get moving." Rias stated, turning her attention to her ebony haired friend. "Akeno, get the circle ready, we're going in."
"On it~!" Akeno heartily cried, beginning to get the magic circle set up once more.
"...This is surely not going to end well..."
My thoughts were cut off by the ever surprising crimson flash of the transportation circle, my yelp stifled as I tried to keep a brave face on, finding ourselves in a dim room, with a scarlet pool of blood coating the wooden floor, a blonde haired girl, dressed in the torn up gown of a holy sister, laid upon the ground, whimpering as a man stood over her, wielding a sword of light and a pistol, wearing the robes of a Exorcist, a maddened look of twisted enjoyment on his face, with Kiba and Koneko standing guard over Issei's shivering body.
"Well~! Look who finally decided to join the party~!" the man cackled, his voice searing with insanity and fanatacism. "Big red and her little motley crew rear their pathetic little heads~!"
"This man...Is he truly an agent of God? Such...insanity could only befall someone of nil faith." I thought to myself, frowning as I reached into my sachel, quietly taking out my blade, mounting it onto my belt, keeping a stern look trained on the priest.
"...What did we we walk in on? The Catholic Church's annual meeting?" Lyonette snarked, looking at the whimpering sister on the floor, blinking as she tilted her head at you. "...Huh? Wait, aren't you that nun that me and my friend saw the other day?" the sister did not respond, and instead burst out crying, seemingly in fear of the situation we were in.
"Shut up, you bitch!" the priest screamed, slamming his foot into the girl's chest, grinning as he heard her shriek in pain. I gritted my teeth, stepping foreward slightly, agitated that anyone, never-the-less a priest, would act in such a manner.
"Stop that!" I growled, feeling the eyes of everyone in the room turn to me as I spoke. "W-who do you think you are?! Treating someone with such distain!" the man stared at me for a moment, before a horribley sadistic grin crept its way onto his face.
"And who do you think you are? Trying to give me shit as if you're better than me~" he spoke, his words laced with lunacy and madness. "When you're the one hanging around with Devil scum!" he cackled maniacally, delivering another kick to the sister's chest. "And lucky for me~ I've got an all-you-can-purge buffet of the fucking things!"
"How disturbed must you be?!" I stated, raising my voice ever so slightly, so I could be heard over the man's laughter. "For Devils to be kinder than you, you're hardly in a spot to purge anything, lest it be yourself!"
"Aww~ What's the matter~? Is the little girl getting upset that I'm about to slaughter all of her horrid little pals?" the man stated, his abnormally long tongue sticking out of his mouth. "Don't worry kid! You're going to Hell with them!" the man charged forward, slashing his sword of light in my direction, a crazed giggle escaping him as he swung his blade at me, I felt my body panic, unsheathing my sword and putting it up to his, blocking his strike from touching me, I shivered, looking back at the rest of the group, blinking a little, all of them looking at me with a unified look of surprise.
"Tylia! What do you think you're doing!?" Lyonette yelled, moving forward slightly, a look of concern on her face. "You can't take that guy alone! Stop it with your knight bullshit!"
"I'm buying you all time!" I grunted, kicking the man back, further from me. "Get out of here while you still have the chance!"
"Oh, they're not going to have much of a chance~" the man stated, his excitment clear in his voice. "Any moment now, my Fallen Angel friends are going to be here, and they're going to waste all of you pathetic little Devils!"
"...She's right..." Rias stated, looking at the rest of the group and clearing her throat. "...We need to get Issei out of here before those Fallen Angels get here...Koneko! You grab Issei, Akeno, get the circle ready!"
"Awww~ Leaving already~?!" the man rhetoriacally asked, his grin widening as a distorted portal of unholy energy opened up from the ceiling. "But I wanted you all to meet my friends~!" but, alas, his words fell on empty ears as a red flash reflected from behind me, the group disappearing into the circle. I stepped back, putting my sword arm out, putting my free arm under my sword arm to keep it steady, despite my shakeyness.
"Alright then! Who, in God's holy name, are you?!" I spat, glaring at the 'priest', rage building up inside of me as I studied his manic expression. "What kind of agent of God co-operates with Fallen Angels?!"
"Oh, right~! You don't know who I am~!" he said, giggling like a child about to get a new toy. "The name's Freed Selzon~!" I blinked my eyes, stepping back a slight bit, trying to stay composed, even at such a name.
"...Fr-Freed Selzon...?" I stuttered, my composure being to demolish at an alarming pace as it dawned on me what a sitatuation I had gotten myself into. "...The Stray Priest...?"
"In the flesh, you insufferable whore~!" he proclaimed, his grin widening as he stepped forward. I felt my heart begin to sink, beginning to shake and shiver, the oppressive air around me was near suffocating, tendrils of dread running down my spine.
"...How am I meant to defeat the Stray Priest himself...?" I thought to myself, shaking in my boots, stepping back. "...This truly has turned into a diffifcult situation..."
"Enough chatting~! Let's get the part where I shut that whore mouth of yours for good~!" Freed cackled, charging at me and swinging his sword in a downward slash, I put my own blade up, however, I was too late, as the blade slashed over the front of me, tearing my uniform in two...Revealing my body, now on full display. I gasped, looking down at myself, squealing in fright and embarassment, rushing to cover myself. Freed simply chuckled pervertedly, ramming me into the wall and grinning. "Since I can't get the other bitch co-operative, you'll do just fine~!"
"N-no! Get off me, you sick bastard!" I shrieked, kicking my leg up and slamming my foot into his crotch, hearing him gasp and let out a yelp, stepping back and letting go of me. "Learn some fucking manners, you dolt!" with that outburst, I kicked the sick bastard back, pointing my sword directly at his throat, my heart beating a mile a minute, gritting my teeth.
"You...Little bitch!" Freed shouted, looking at me with a look of fury, shakily getting to his feet and picking up his sword and pistol. "I'll tear that pretty little head right off your shoulders!" I scowled, lunging forward and swinging my sword at him, barely clipping him as he jumped back, his look of sadistic escstacy replaced with a twisted scowl.
"Come on! What's taking those Fallen Fuckwits so long?!" he growled, looking up at where the portal was. "Get in here already!" however, the portal seemed to be having complications, quivering and shutting as the air seemed to waver a slight bit. "W-what?!" I looked around the room for something that could be the source of the disruption, my gaze resting on the sister, who was leant against the wall in the corridor, a look of fear in her eyes as she looked at me, nodding her head to me as her hands glowed.
"...I-is she...blocking them from getting through?" I blinked, looking back at Freed, scowling at him and pointing my sword at him once again. "I-it appears your friends aren't going to be showing up anytime soon, Freed." the Stray Priest turned his head, gritting his teeth as he pointed his own blade at me.
"Shut it, you stupid fucking harlot!" he snapped, his attention turning to the sister leant on the wall, letting out a cry of frustration. "Asia! Why are you putting up a barrier now?! The Devils are gone!" I heard a squeak come from the sister, the wavering in the air stopping as the barrier fell.
"I-I'm sorry, Mister Freed!" the girl stated, looking at him in horror as he began stalking towards her.
"It was you who was blocking the Fallen Angels from getting in, wasn't it?!" he snarled, looking prepared to rip her head off at a moment's notice. Before I had even realised what I was doing, I leapt in front of Freed, holding up my sword in a blocking stance.
"Don't even think about laying a fucking hand on her, you bastard!" I growled, glaring the man in the eyes, feeling my heart race with determination. "This girl is innocent when compared to you, Selzon!"
"Innocent?!" Freed exclaimed, glaring daggers at me as I stood sentinal in front of him. "She's Devil sympathising scum! Just like you, girl! Now outta my way before I start making heads roll!"
"I think not." I responded, trying not to crumble under the pressure of the situation and trying to keep my knightly mentality in check. Freed, without a moment's hesitation, let out a bellow of rage, swinging his sword down at me, to which I responded in kind, our blade's clattering as they clashed, I furrowed my brow, beginning to focus myself on manifesting my Sacred Gear, feeling the cold steel of the blue lance-gauntlet encapsulate my other arm, as I smacked Freed around the side of the head with it, hearing a satisfying clang and grunt as it took him off guard. Freed growled as he aimed his pistol at me, his growl turning to a chuckle as he glared me down.
"Finally~! Things are getting interesting~!" he barked, the maddened grin returning to his face, even wider than before. "I love it when my prey puts up a fight~!" with another cry, he swung his sword at me, the blade of light slashing over my hand, a horrid burning feeling raking over it as it struck me, like rat poison rubbed on an open wound, a tingling feeling being felt around the edge of the cut as my magic tried to numb the pain.
"Why does this hurt so damn much?!" I thought to myself, attempting to tough out the searing pain, my eyes drawn to the ceiling, where a portal was opening once more. "I have to get out of here...And I'm gonna do something really stupid when I do." in a blind panic, I struck Freed with the flat of my blade and the shaft of my lance, knocking him to the ground with a grunt, I felt my body kick into overdrive as I turned on my heels, making a dash out of the room, demanifesting my Sacred Gear, holstering my blade and hoisting the girl onto my shoulder, hearing her squeak in surprise and fright, dashing down the small corridor and tearing the door open, slamming it behind me as I ran out into the cold evening, the air biting at my exposed front as I hauled ass down the street.
"W-what are you doing? Where are you taking me?!" the girl cried, her voice slightly wavery because of the speed I was running, the pain in my hand beginning to numb.
"We'll figure that out later! Try and get a barrier up, like you did before!" I ordered, trying to keep as composed as possible as I turned to look at her, my vision impaired by her backside because of how I picked her up.
"O-okay! I-I...trust you." she said, a small glow beginning to show up behind me as she began quietly mumbling to herself. The sound of shouting and yelling was heard from further down the street as I dashed up and around a corner, following my vague knowledge of the city's layout until I reached the house, panting like a dog and sweating like a pig as I put the girl down on her feet, trying the door, finding it to be locked, I rooted around in my bag, which was miraclously still mostly intact, even after such an encounter, fumbling around with my housekeys and twisting them in the lock, grabbing the girl's hand and pulling her into the house, locking the door behind us.
"...A-are you okay?" I asked, after a moment of silence, looking the girl in the eyes, spying that her eyes were watering a tad. The girl sniffled, blinking and grabbed me, pulling me into a hug and putting her head on my shoulder.
"...T-thank you..." she stated, sniffling a little more, looking up at my face as she pulled away, a sad, yet grateful smile on her face. "T-thank you for...taking me away from them..." my heart swelled at the girl's words, a small smile creeping its way onto my face as I giggled slightly.
"...Aww, bless your heart...It's no problem." I responded, sighing as I looked over the girl for any wounds, still wincing slightly from my own. "...Are you hurting anywhere though?"
"N-no...Thankfully." the girl said, looking at my hand and grabbing it, a small gasp coming out of her as she looked over it. "W-wait! Why are you worrying about me when your hand's so...wounded?!" she asked, looking at me, then back at my hand. "Y-you're hurt!"
"H-huh?" I said, looking down at my lacerated hand, which was glowing slightly. "...Don't worry about that. I have healing magic, I can sort it out."
"...L-let me help you." she said, looking at me with a worried look. "I want to help you in some way, since you...more or less just saved my life." she grabbed my hand, hovering her other hand over the wound and beginning to focus, a small green glow was seen from a small ring on her finger as my wound began tingling, watching as the wound slowly began to close up, in moments, there was barely a scar left. "...There, all done."
"...You have healing magic too, huh?" I responded, looking at my hand, making sure the wound was all gone. "That's...quite convenient."
"Y-yes." the girl said, smiling softly, an admittedly endearing giggle escaping her. "It's a power I was born with, so I try to use it to help as many people as I can!"
"That's respectable." I responded, looking over her, feeling a bit of blood rush to my cheeks as I realised that her clothes were much the same as my own...sliced up the front, revealing a fair bit of her body. I cleared my throat, waving my hand in front of my own face, fanning myself. "I-I think we should get some more clothes...My mother would kill me if she saw me walking around like this." I began to guide the girl up the stairs, holding her arm as we both moved up, smiling softly as she followed. "...So, what's your name?"
"...A-Asia..." she responded, smiling back at me. "Asia Argento."
"...Well, it's nice to meet you Asia." I stated, bringing her to my room door and quietly opening it, looking back at her. "My name is Tylia Griffin."
"It's nice to meet you too, Tylia..." Asia stated, giggling a slight bit as we walked into my room. The room was decorated with blue painted walls, a brown carpet, along with some posters pinned to the walls, depicting various fantasy games I'd gotten into, a dresser was positioned next to my bed, with a old laptop and various game boxes stacked neatly on top of it, along with a similar wardrobe. I dismounted my sword from my belt, placing it horizontally on some nails which were mounted in the wall, stealing a glance at Asia as she looked around the room, quietly observing everything with a confused, yet delighted expression on her face. "Th-this room is wonderful! I don't think I've ever seen a room like this before..."
"I suppose this is a first for both of us then." I responded, smiling at her a slight bit, slightly amused by her amazement with my admittedly sub-par room. "This is the first time I've had someone who isn't family in this room." it was true, unlike Lyonette, I'd never really had anyone I could properly call a friend, as I always felt to awkward to properly make conversation with people, however, in this instance, it seemed like I was managing to converse half-decently.
"Ah, I see." Asia said, blinking and looking down, seemingly thinking. "...Sorry if I'm...intruding."
"It's alright." I stated, trying to give her as warm a smile as I could muster. "I'm happy to have company for once, other than my sister and mother."
"Your...sister?" she asked, looking at me, seemingly trying to recall something from earlier, a smile crept onto her face as she jumped a little bit. "O-oh! Was that girl who was with you- the one that looked kinda like you, was that her?"
"Yes, that was her." I confirmed, going over to my wardrobe and opening the door. "She's normally in the room adjacent to this one, but...as I'm sure you know, she's busy at the moment."
"Come to think of it...What is Lyonette doing?" I thought to myself as I rummaged around for some spare clothes. "She's probably helping the others tend to Issei...Which is odd, considering that Asia and I appear to be the only ones with any sort of healing magic, unless one of them has some healing magic of their own." I pulled out a set of clothes, throwing them over to Asia as I pulled another set out for myself.
"A-are you sure that I can use these...?" Asia asked, tilting her head with a slightly startled look on her face. "I mean...what if I'm not able to give them back?"
"Don't worry about it." I reassured her, flashing a smile at her. "I have got plenty of clothes, so I won't miss that particular set, even if you aren't going to be giving them back."
"...T-thank you, again." she thanked me once again, looking a little upset for some reason. "I-I wish I could do more to help you here, but..."
"No, no. It's quite alright." I tried my best to sound as kindly as possible as I looked back over at her, clearing my throat. "Though, if you want to help me, I'd suggest getting changed. I'll be just outside the door." I quietly left the room, carrying my clothes, which were a simple shirt and pair of dress trousers. I quietly closed the door behind me as I stripped myself of what was left of my school uniform, sighing a tad as I looked down at myself.
"Of course...My binder's been cut, just like the rest, figures..." I exhaled softly, quietly putting my clothes on, struggling with the buttons on my shirt due to my bust no-longer being held back. "Freed is utterly disgusting...I swear that next time I find that whelp, he's going to be getting beheaded by Percival." I couldn't help but feel a small level of happiness at the thought of slaughtering the Stray Priest with my sword, although, perhaps the fact that the man is in Kuoh at all should be alarming enough to suck any enjoyment out of the concept. "It looks like I'm going to have to keep a close eye on Asia from now on. Especially since Freed and his Fallen Angel friends are going to be hunting for her..."
"T-Tylia! I'm done!" I heard Asia yell from inside the room, opening the door and peeking her head out. I turned to look at her, stepping inside and sitting on my bed.
"The next thing on the agenda is to ring my sister and ask about our next move." I said, picking up my bag and taking my phone out of it, sighing. "...Wow, I...never thought I would be saying that." I sighed, navigating my phone and going to my contacts, putting it to my ear as I began to call my sister.
[Perspective of: Lyonette Griffin]
"You...can't be serious." the words passed through my lips in shock of what I was hearing, raising an eyebrow at Rias.
"I am entirely serious, Lyonette." Rias spoke coldly, her arms folded, a stern look on her face. "Your sister is a danger to us. You brought a person, who, judging by that sword of hers, is associated with the Church, into the club room with no regard for anything I'd told you."
"...Not to mention that she's a Holy Sword user." Kiba piped up suddenly, his expression gloomy, his tone matching.
"E-either way though, it's a little uncool to just...leave her there, ain't it?" Issei spoke, sitting on the couch and looking at everyone. "I mean, if we leave her with that creep, he'll kill her! Or worse.." Issei seemed to shudder at the thought, it was at this point that my phone began ringing, which startled me, the tension in the air lowering a little as I slowly picked up the phone, seeing the name upon it...'Sis', I gasped, accepting the call and putting it to my ear.
"...S-sis? Did you...get out okay?" I asked, my voice shaking, anticipating to hear sickening noises, or manic laughter. However, what I heard was instead, music to my ears.
"Yes, I am alright, sister..." I heard Tylia's voice through the phone, a feeling of slight relief washing over me. "I made a friend, as well...But that's besides the point."
"...A new friend?" I asked, looking at everyone around the room, sweating slightly as I felt them all stare at me. "Don't tell me...She couldn't have, could she?"
"Yes. I rescued the sister which Freed was tormenting." she said, a tad bit of happiness in her voice as she spoke, clearing her throat once more. "...Which brings me to the reason why I'm calling. Could you ask Lady Gremory what I should do, now that I'm out safe? I believe I've dealt with Freed and his posse to the best of my ability." I gulped, quietly looking over at Rias, who was shooting me a stern look, raising an eyebrow.
"...Y'know what, I'll put you on speaker, then you can ask her yourself..." I muttered, taking the phone from my ear and pressing the speaker button. "Hey, Rias, my sister wants to ask you some stuff." Rias raised an eyebrow, looking at the phone.
"What do you mean that you dealt with Freed and his posse?" she muttered, her voice sounding both impressed and angered at the same time. "Are you incinuating that you actually fought them?"
"L-Lady Gremory! Um.." Tylia squeaked through the phone, her voice cracking slightly as she spoke. "Erm...Yes. Well...I fought Freed, however, the Fallen Angels never got the chance to get through because of Asia here..."
"Hello!" a squeaky voice came through the phone, seemingly sounding rather chipper and happy.
"I see..." Rias thought over this for a second, pursing her lips and walking over to me and the phone. "...Get to the school and come into the club room. We'll talk about it in here." she said, a slight look of exhasperation in her eyes. "We'll see you in a moment." she quietly hung up the phone, sighing as she looked at the floor.
"Why are we letting her come back?" Kiba asked, looking at Rias with a questioning look on his face. "She's a Holy Sword user."
"Regardless, if she managed to go toe-to-toe with Freed for our sake, she must be of some use to us." she replied, folding her arms and closing her eyes. "If she truly wished to harm us, I believe she would've done so already, and if she wishes to help us...Then we may have a rather useful ally."
"Why're you so fixated on her having a Holy Sword, Kiba?" I asked, looking over at the boy, tilting my head to the right. "Like, I know we're Devils and stuff, but surely it isn't that bad." Kiba seemed to grit his teeth and clentch his fists, staying silent.
"He...has a lot of bad memories associated with Holy Swords." Rias answered, looking at Kiba with a look of concern on her face. "It's best not to pry." I blinked, looking at Rias, then at Kiba again, suddenly feeling a little bit guilty.
"Ah, shit...Touchy subject? Sorry..." I muttered, slumping over a little and pouting a tad. "Now I just feel like an asshole..."
"At least you know not to bring it up again." Koneko suddenly piped up, fixing her gaze upon me with a glare in her golden eyes. For a small while, the only sounds that could be heard were the ticking of the clock, an awkward quiet running through the room, at one point, I swear I heard Equinox cough, as if to attempt to break the silence.
"You alright?"
"I'm allergic to awkward teenagers."
The door to the club room suddenly opened, the aroma of fish and chips wafted into the room as Tylia and the girl from before walked into the room, Tylia was wearing a pair of dress trousers and a shirt which seemed too tight for her- in fact, it looked like the chest of her shirt was about to burst, while holding something wrapped in paper, while the girl was wearing a similar outfit, with her shirt and trousers being a little too big for her. Koneko seemed to perk up a little, looking at the two of them, seeming to sniff the air as she eyed the two of them, specifically the paper wrapping in Tylia's hand.
"We are here! And we brought fish and chips!" Tylia proclaimed, walking into the room, with the girl, who I guessed was Asia, in tow.
"Fissshh~" I heard Koneko whisper, a smile on her face as she tracked the paper wrapping like a cat would track its prey. Rias giggled, looking at Tylia and Asia.
"You didn't have to bring food you know." she stated, putting a hand on her hip with a small smile. Tylia simply smiled and giggled nervously.
"I-I felt like buying everyone something to eat as a thank you for not...Y-you know, getting angry at me." she muttered, looking at Asia, then at all of us. "I also brought Asia with me, since I guessed you'd all want to meet her." Asia simply waved, giggling shyly.
"It's nice to meet you all.~" Asia stated, a smile on her face as she stayed behind Tylia.
"...Regardless of that, I'll have to ask you both to take a seat." Rias stated, folding her arms, her expression becoming a little more serious, watching as Tylia and Asia scrambled to sit down. "...Tylia. That's your name, is it not?" Rias asked her, tilting her head.
"Y-yes. That's my name." Tylia confirmed, a bead of sweat running down her brow.
"I would like you to recount the events that just transpired to me, please."
Tylia and Asia exchanged glances, my sister sighing quietly as she shuffled a little.
"Well, from when you all left..."
[Perspective of: ?]
Down an empty corridor, my footsteps echoed. The walls lined with door after door, with each having a number upon them, in my mind, I counted up to my destination, my eyes tracking each number as my black cloak swayed behind me, my shoes clattering against the floor with each step.
"You better have a good reason for dragging me to your place, boss." I siliently hissed, reaching the door I needed to be at, knocking on it loudly. It was a few seconds before the door creaked open, and a black haired man, with golden bangs, revealed himself.
"Ah, Maion! Come in, come in!" he said, opening the door to its fullest and stepping out of my way. Without a word, I stepped inside, afixing my cold blue eyes on the man as I entered.
"...Long time no see, I suppose?" I asked, my gaze unwavering as I stared him down. The man simply chuckled, going over to a couch and sitting down on it.
"Damn right. How long has it been? 500, 1000 years?" I frowned a tad as he spoke, sitting down on the adjacent seat, keeping my gaze trained on him.
"We've barely spoken since the end of the Great War. Even before that, we barely spoke, Azazel." I muttered, sitting back and crossing my legs. Azazel simply smiled, getting a bottle and a pair of glasses, pouring one out for himself.
"Do you want any wine, by the way? I've got plenty in." he asked, keeping the bottle in hand as he finished pouring some out, to which I simply shook my head.
"I'm afraid my host is underage, so I can't have any alcohol." I declined, folding my arms. "Though...I must ask. Why did you want me to come here? I'm meant to be retired, remember."
"Just wanted to catch up is all." he stated, putting the bottle of wine on the floor as he looked back at me.
"I find it hard to believe that you dragged me out of 'retirement' to simply catch up, especially someone like you." I grumbled, listening as Azazel laughed, holding his hands up defensively.
"Alright, you got me!" he stated, humor in his voice as he fixed me with a gaze. "I just wanted to ask...a favor of you." I sighed, putting a hand to my face.
"If it involves those Devils, I'm going to decline." I growled, glaring Azazel down, watching him shake his head.
"Nope." he responded bluntly, folding his arms once again. "...It's...about Raynare." I raised an eyebrow, blinking slightly.
"...What about her?" I asked, leaning forward a tad, tilting my head. Azazel's expression began to look a tad more grim as he sighed.
"...She's started attempting to hunt Sacred Gear users...As in, killing them." he began, sighing a little more. "Normally, I'd be okay with it, but considering the fact that she's full-on targeting people and attempt to take their Sacred Gears, I can't help but not be okay with it."
"...And what do you want me to do about it?" I asked, blinking in confusion. "It's been more than a hundred years since I last used my powers properly, unless you count the Stray Devil who crossed me on the street..."
"...I just...want you to try and..." Azazel seemed to think about his words, folding his arms quietly. "...'Retrieve' her." I quietly mulled over these words, clearing my throat and standing.
"...I..." I looked at my boss, putting my hands in my coat pockets, clearing my throat again. "...I'll try my best."
